How to determine business miles vs commute for seasonal employee with irregular worksite

The IRS has specific guidelines for this situation. When determining temporary vs. regular worksite status, you need to look at both the current arrangement and the historical pattern. According to IRS rules, a worksite is generally considered temporary if employment there is expected to last (and actually does last) for one year or less. However, if the employee returns to the same location regularly over multiple years, it can be classified as a regular worksite despite the seasonal nature. In your specific case, since the employee has been working at this facility seasonally since 2019, the IRS would likely consider this a regular worksite for her. This means the miles driven from her home to this facility would be considered non-deductible commuting miles, not business miles. The key factor is the established pattern over multiple years, which creates an expectation of returning to the same location, even if it's only for 15 days each season.

I had a nearly identical situation with my business and got absolutely contradicting advice from two different CPAs. I finally used taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) to analyze my employee contracts and mileage logs. It helped clarify that in my case, since my employees worked at multiple locations with no "primary" office, their first trip from home to any worksite was commuting, but travel between sites was business mileage. The system analyzed IRS publication 463 and broke down exactly how it applied to my situation.

I was so skeptical about using an AI tax tool, but I tried taxr.ai after seeing this comment. Worked amazingly for my situation! I uploaded my employee handbook and some emails about our work arrangement, and it identified that my particular situation qualified for the "temporary work location outside metropolitan area" exception. My employees now get reimbursed for business miles when they travel to client sites outside our city, but regular commuting miles apply within the city limits. Saved me thousands in properly classified reimbursements and potential audit headaches.

Quick tip if you need to actually talk to the IRS about this! I had a similar question last year and spent DAYS trying to get through to the IRS business tax line. Finally found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The agent clarified that for my seasonal workers, since they had no other workplace, their drives to our facility were considered commuting miles even though they only worked 2-3 months a year. Saved me from incorrectly reimbursing thousands in mileage.

Ok I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment, I was desperate enough to try it because I needed clarification on contractor vs employee designations for my seasonal workers. It actually worked! Got through to the IRS in about 45 minutes (way better than my previous attempts). The agent explained that the key factor for my workers isn't just the seasonal status but whether they have another "regular" workplace. Since mine don't, all their travel to my business locations counts as commuting. Now I'm updating my reimbursement policy to avoid future issues.

From what I understand, it also depends on whether you're reimbursing the employee or if they're trying to claim a deduction. The TCJA eliminated miscellaneous itemized deductions for employees through 2025, so even if these are technically "business miles," the employee can't deduct them on their personal return. But you as the employer can still choose to reimburse them tax-free if they qualify as business miles.

Doesn't your determination also depend on what state you're in? California has different rules than federal for some of this stuff. Our accountant says we have to follow the stricter of the two sets of rules.